


It's Not That He Doesn't Love You, Bucky Barnes

by sparkly_butthole



Series: Stucky tumblr prompts [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Break Up, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-12-17 01:23:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11841060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparkly_butthole/pseuds/sparkly_butthole
Summary: Bucky knows.He knows it by the set of Steve’s jaw. By the tear streaks on his face that he thinks he’s hiding. By the slight shift away when Bucky walks near, and the bone weariness in his stance. All of it practically screams at him: Steve’s done. Steve wants you gone.Steve’s had it with your shit, Bucky Barnes.





	It's Not That He Doesn't Love You, Bucky Barnes

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the August challenge #17: Breaking up
> 
> Beta'ed by my lovely Arke

Bucky knows.

He knows it by the set of Steve’s jaw. By the tear streaks on his face that he thinks he’s hiding. By the slight shift away when Bucky walks near, and the bone weariness in his stance. All of it practically screams at him: Steve’s done. Steve wants you gone.

Steve’s had it with your shit, Bucky Barnes.

All that’s clear as day. What’s not clear is why.

He sighs, loud and dramatic because that’s Bucky’s way. The essence of Bucky is and always has been drama, and it has a tendency to get him into trouble from time to time. He wonders briefly if it’s got him in trouble now, but one look at Steve tells him no. No, it goes much deeper than that.

“You gonna talk to me?” There’s no hiding the tremor in his voice.

“Why bother when you don’t talk to me?”

What’s even worse is that he’s already fed up with this conversation- there’s no way this ends in anything other than heartbreak for him.

“I’m gonna need more info than that, Steve.”

“Here’s your info, Bucky Barnes. Shove it up your ass.”

Before the envelope even makes it across the room, across the entire studio apartment in one motion, he finally understands. And it’s not like he can blame Steve, either. He’d be pissed, too.

Still he drops to his knees in supplication.  _ Not this, let’s not go out like this. _ He holds out the shipping papers like the Holy Grail, like a thing he can’t deny no matter how much he wishes it so.

“Stevie, baby…”

“Don’t you ‘baby’ me, James Buchanan Barnes-”

“I was gonna tell you, I swear I was.”

“When, on the day you shipped out?” he spits at Bucky, and yep. This is it, this is how he loses the best thing he’s ever had.

“Enough, Stevie.”

Instead of getting his guy to calm down just one fucking second so he can explain his reasoning, the authoritative tone of his voice only makes things worse.

“Oh, so you think you’re the boss, that you can come in here and just lay it on thick like that girl you used to date- Dottie? Well, I ain’t her. You don’t get to treat me like some dame you can drop like a charity penny, Bucky, I ain’t gonna stand for it.”

“Steve, if you’d just give me a goddamned second-”

“No. Get out. Take your clothes and go.”

“Where to, genius? It’s not like I have a place to go after gettin’ kicked out for bein’ a faggot.”

And _ boy howdy _ was that the wrong thing to say!

Steve’s jaw clenches tighter and he runs to their little hand-me-down faux wood dresser, nearly ripping out Bucky’s drawer in his haste to throw the clothes at him. Bucky follows and grabs him, but much to his surprise, Steve struggles in his arms. It’s enough to throw Bucky off in baffled outrage. 

“Told ya I can get by on my own, Barnes. And if I can, so can you. Go home to your rich family and denounce your faggoty ways. I’m sure they’ll take you back. Or live on the corner until you ship out, see if I care.”

“Steve, doll, you know it’s not my choice to go. I wouldn’t leave if I didn’t have to. I don’t  _ want _ to go.”

“Sure don’t seem that way.”

Bucky stares at Steve, unbelieving. Sure, he’s right to be upset, but like this? He’s gotta know-

“Steve, I love you.”

Nope. Wrong time to say it.

Steve closes his eyes but stays rooted to the floor. Bucky leaves for basic in a month, but his life effectively ends in this moment. Here, tonight. All because he was too much of a coward to tell his Stevie, his sweet, wonderful Stevie-

“Go.”

Steve tosses the clothes at Bucky. He doesn’t even pretend his eyes are dry as he walks out the door.


End file.
